'If you smuggle, slaughter cows, you'll be killed', warns Rajasthan BJP MLA

Alwar: Known for his controversial statements, Rajasthan BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja once again said something which might not work in the favour of the ruling party in the state.

BJP MLA from Ramgarh Gyan Dev Ahuja has now said, "If you smuggle cows, you will be killed."

The statement comes after a group of self-proclaimed vigilantes severely beat up 46-year-old alleged cow smuggler in Ramgarh area of Alwar district.

A man called Zakir Khan was arrested for cattle smuggling after he was pulled out of his truck and beaten by villagers on Saturday. The police had tried to stop his truck, in which there were eight cows, but Zakir allegedly drove through the barricades. The police also claim those in the truck fired at them. Villagers stopped the truck and attacked Zakir Khan. Three others with him ran away.

Reacting to the incident, Gyan Dev Ahuja said: "Mera toh seedha seedha kehna hai ki gautaskari aur gaukashi karoge to yu hi maroge (If you smuggle and slaughter cows, then you will be killed). The cow is our mother."

The BJP MLA also rubbished that Zakir Khan had been beaten up. 

"Use janta ne nahin peeta, wo bahana kar raha hai... (As the public was following the truck, it overturned, resulting in the injuries... The people didn't beat him...he was injured because the vehicle overturned," he said.

No stranger to controversies, Gyan Dev Ahuja in February 2016 called the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus a hub of sex and drugs where over 3,000 used condoms and 2,000 liquor bottles are daily found.

In April, Pehlu Khan was beaten to death by a mob of vigilantes on the Delhi-Jaipur highway for transporting cows. The police had named cow protection groups and the leader of a local Gaushala or cattle shed for the attack, but the accused were let off by the state Criminal Investigation Department.

In November, Ummar Khan was shot dead on the Alwar-Bharatpur border, by alleged cow vigilantes. The police accused him of smuggling cattle but no attacker was arrested.

In December this year, the police have had two encounters with alleged cow traffickers. One man was killed in a shootout with the police on December 7.

Alwar has recorded the highest number of cases filed under the Rajasthan Bovine Act for cow protection this year. The police have now been directed to set up "Gau Raksha Chowkis" or check posts to control cattle trafficking. Many fear it may only provoke more attacks; policemen here have been given rifles and quick response teams.